MISSOULIAN EDITORIAL: Time to learn about proposed school bondsThe teachers, staff and students with MCPS have "made do" with substandard conditions for a long time now. They have patched, repurposed and provided their own personal resources to fill in the gaps. Even so, the wear and tear at certain older schools - 106-year-old Lowell Elementary stands out - has become increasingly apparent.

Travel and Marketing Trends for Montana - September 2015Intent to travel among American adults has reached an all-time high, with 34 percent planning to increase the number of leisure trips they take over the next year. With the upswing in travel intention comes a shift in the travel landscape.

Great Falls Development Authority

Great Falls recognized by Montana Main StreetDesignated communities receive priority service and training from the Montana Main Street Program staff, are able to apply for annual grant funding without providing a required local match, receive free registration for one representative at regional workshops and conferences and receive free membership in the national Main Street Center network.

Reports on North Dakota Weaponized Drone Law Miss Larger PictureWhen an 18-year-old in Connecticut strapped a handgun to a hobby drone, the authorities and media went ballistic -- pun intended. The same thing happened in North Dakota when a legislative amendment formally okayed law enforcement to affix nonlethal weapons to unmanned aerial vehicles.

Utah's Silicon Slopes lure tech entrepreneursAccording to the National Venture Capital Association, about $800 million was invested in Utah in 2014, putting it in 9th place for most investment in the USA. That's up from $300 million in 2013.

Solarize Comes to Missoula, MTSolarize Missoula is a grassroots, community campaign to dramatically increase the number of solar electric systems installed in Missoula.

Exxon Scientists Knew Fossil Fuels Caused Climate Change Back in 1977In 1977, climate scientist James F. Black made this statement to Exxon execs:
"In the first place, there is general scientific agreement that the most likely manner in which mankind is influencing the global climate is through carbon dioxide release from the burning of fossil fuels"

Google's codebase is ludicrously huge for good reasonGoogle's codebase -- the programming instructions that run every one of its services from Gmail to Slides -- span a whopping 2 billion lines of code that stretch across 1 billion files and require 86 terabytes of storage, according to Google engineering manager Rachel Potvin.

Direct flight from Great Falls to Chicago possible"Adding an additional flight in Great Falls will help get folks to where they need to be cheaper and faster," said Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont. "This is big news for folks in Great Falls and the surrounding communities, and I will work closely with the airlines to ensure this flight is available as soon as possible."

Boiseans plug into electric cars"If you want to change people's behavior, you can't do it with coercion," says Gregory Allen, who built his own electric-assisted bicycle. "You have to do it with temptation."

In praise of traffic roundaboutsTraffic circles have been proven to ease congestion, reduce accidents and emissions, and save thousands of dollars a year in traffic-light costs.